Tag Archives: DIY

Aunt Nana strikes again with her crochet! Halloween is right around the corner, and I have to get these TMNT masks in the mail!

For Christmas last year, we gave our nephews several Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle themed presents. When I found a video tutorial on Ninja style masks in adult and child sizes, I had to make them for my nephews for Halloween!

They love imaginative play, so I made one in red, blue, purple and orange in adult and child sizes. Over the top? Nah. Cowabunga dude!

My dad would’ve loved this Indianapolis Colt’s hat. He was a tried and true blue Colts fan. Admittedly, I have not really watched the Colts religiously since they won the Super Bowl in 2007. My nephew, Sean was just a baby then, and living with me at the time with his mother. As a family, we watched the Colts games and cheered them on in our blue!

So, I made Sean a Colt’s hat. I’ll make Barry one, too. It just seems to have a little more meaning for me. I know my dad would have loved this hat! Go Colts!

I crocheted a Colts hat for my nephew, and it really needed a horseshoe! This is an extra large pumpkin, and chaining 40 makes one giant horseshoe! Luckily, you can crochet this embellishment really quick. I couldn’t waste the effort, so I used some pins and attached it to a pumpkin. 🙂

The very sweet ladies of the Prayer Shawl and Knitting Ministry at All Saints Catholic Church in Dallas tried to teach me to knit. I fumbled, tangled and banged those knitting needles until they told me to go home and just practice. They sent me home with the materials I needed to make the shawl, which will be given to a cancer patient going through chemotherapy.

Even with You Tube, I am not able to teach myself the coordination needed to knit. Thank goodness I found this crochet book at the library! It has been heavy on my heart to use my crochet talent for a good cause. I encourage any crocheter to think about making a shawl/wrap/blanket and donating it to a charity or ministry you believe in.

Good morning! I wanted to share an update on my WIP (work in progress) big sister kit. My gift deadline is by Halloween and I will give this gift in person! Daniel’s youngest sister is getting married and we will see the whole family again.

It’s been four months since our wedding, and I miss our family! I can’t wait to see everyone and give lots of hugs. I need an Aunt Nana fix! I love being an aunt.

The big sister kit includes a crochet blanket, baby doll burp cloths, a sock monkey hat and two crochet head hands (crown and bow tie). I’m still working on the little details. All items are handmade crochet or sewing projects. What do you think?

I love novelty boutique shops! On Monday while I was walking around Willow Bend shopping mall, I stopped into a little store called Paper Crane. It is mainly a stationary store, but there are gifts available for purchase by occasion. My maternal heart skipped a beat when I saw crochet crowns for babies. They were priced around $17 a piece, but I did not buy one. I knew I could make several for the cost of one.

With the help of Clare at www.bobwilson123.org, I crocheted a crown for my new nephew and his soon-to-be big sister. This project takes very little yarn, knowledge of 3 stitches and about 15 to 30 minutes of your time (depends on the size). Clare’s video on You Tube teaches this beauty at a very nice pace. By the second crown, I had the pattern down pat and didn’t need to watch.

These would make excellent newborn and toddler photo props. I can’t wait to see Jenny & Mike’s little prince and princess in a photo with these!

Big brother + little brother hats for my nephews

With windy fall weather approaching in Indiana, a set of handmade hats for my nephews seemed to be the perfect gift. Now that I have the hang of crocheting, it really doesn’t take long to make them! I encourage anyone desiring to learn to crochet to watch tutorials on You Tube. Even my grandmother, who was an expert level crocheter, could not teach me to crotchet. It was frustrating! With video tutorials, I can rewind and pause the videos to learn at my own pace.